Geri: Still in her hospital bed. She's doing better on the Terbutaline but still very jittery. It's like she guzzles a pot of coffee every three hours. She was told this morning by the doctor she could go home today, but she needed permission from her insurance company to take the pump home, and she needed to talk to her doctor. And then we waited. When we finally left this afternoon she hadn't heard from either.
Since then she has heard that the doctors talked between themselves. So really she is stuck there waiting for some insurance agent to sign off on the pump, which would certainly seem to be in their interest since they're already paying for the pump and if she goes home they don't have to pay for the room.
The Twins: On the magnesium sulfate, the twins heart rates had both been around 120 beats per minute. When that was removed and the Terbutaline added, they settled in at 160. I pointed out that we were told to expect a 10 beat/minute increase but had seen about 40 instead. The nurse pointed out that the mag sulfate would have suppressed their heart rates (which we hadn't been told) but didn't have an answer when we pointed out that meant the mag sulfate must have suppressed their normal rate by 30 beats/minute.
Otherwise, indications are that the babies are fine. The Girl moves more than The Boy.
Jeremy: He finally had to get back home to go to work tomorrow. He stuck it out this whole time and even slept in Geri's room last night.
Sarah: She's going to work tomorrow, too. She's in taskmaster mode getting things ready for another long-term, short-notice trip if necessary.
Sarah's stomach and appetite still haven't recovered completely from the stomach thing, either, so she's not at full strength.
Me: I'll be on home duty tomorrow. I may have to do some working from home to finish getting a vitally important state report submitted. The rest of the time I'll be cleaning and helping the house recover from our unexpected absence. Grandma and the kids were here but there is still work to do (i.e. litter boxes that already needed changing before we left [shudder]).
I don't like the Terbutaline. It is having a dramatic effect on Geri and on the babies. They keep saying none of the side effects are permanent or serious, but I don't believe that's entirely true. Still, this seems to be the standard treatment for pre-term labor, and I guess they've finally convinced me that the twins are better off in the womb with Terbutaline than outside the womb without it. Not that they've given us all the information we need to make an informed decision. All the decisions seem to be made by the doctors, and we (including Geri) find out afterwards.
Also, I have a low-grade fever. I've been complaining every afternoon and evening that I don't feel well. Tonight the thermometer vindicated me. I have a real fever (99 degrees, but it counts!).
Our post-natal children: They both had fun with Grandma. Harrison went to school today and Grace stayed at the house with Grandma. They both seem to be over the illness, but we haven't had a meal with them yet.
Grace won't be much help with the state report tomorrow but she may help with the house ("Hey Grace, want to dig in the kittie's sandbox?")
Grandma Labuta and Grandpa Joe: I expect they will sleep well tonight. Maybe they already are! They were an immense help through all this.
Time to go tend to my raging fever and go to (my own!) bed.
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